Greens kick off convention with different views of success

Green Party headquarters office manager Cynthia Joseph prepares shirts for conventioneers upon arrival at the University of Houston.

Green Party headquarters office manager Cynthia Joseph prepares...

The national Green Party convention kicked off Thursday in Houston and its members had one clear message: If you miss Bernie, check us out.

The alternate party's 2016 strategy depends on attracting disillusioned supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose endorsement of Hillary Clinton left some feeling betrayed. The Greens hope to entice them away from Clinton with an agenda that is radically pro-environment, anti-corporations, pro-marijuana and anti-war.

Local party leaders boast of the 40 candidates seeking office in Texas. Their main goal is not to win, but to get at least 5 percent of the vote for Railroad Commission candidate Martina Salinas. Garnering 5 percent in a statewide race would assure the Greens a spot on future Texas ballots.

The convention, attended by about 300 people, began Thursday at the University of Houston with workshops

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At the "Recruiting Single Women" workshop, Bernadine Williams, co-chair of the Harris County Green Party, said the party largely has failed to attract and accept diverse people. Williams, an organizer in Sunnyside, also said the party has struggled to get past its image of old white men in "hippie gear." Though a welcome letter said the county party aimed to attract 100 new members by November, Williams appeared to dismiss that goal as too ambitious.

The national party also has remained small in membership, and in vote share: Since Ralph Nader won 2.7 million votes in 2000, no Green presidential candidate has won more than 500,000 votes nationwide. By comparison, President Barack Obama won 66 million votes in 2012.

One of the party's success stories, touted on its website, was George Altgelt, who was elected to the city council in Laredo, a city of 250,000.

But Altgelt said he is voting Libertarian in November, and is skipping the Greens' convention in Houston.

"Of course, in Texas, the Green Party isn't the winning party, unfortunately because third parties just haven't gotten traction," he said.

Among the more prominent convention attendees was Arn Menconi, who has held elected officee. He was a county commissioner in Colorado and now seeks to unseat that state's U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat for whom he campaigned six years ago. Menconi said he felt betrayed by Bennett's support for the Keystone pipeline and Democrats' support for "endless wars."

Ahead of Saturday's official nomination of Massachusetts physician Jill Stein for her second presidential run, tomorrow's workshop topics include "Replace the U.S. Constitution," "The Role of Art in Revolution," and "Green Money Power and the Populist Agenda."

Tension at the convention hints at the party's decision point: Is it a quirky and quixotic club for ultra-progressives, or does it want to win elections?

Asked at a news conference what success in November would look like, party officials took divergent approaches. Margaret Flowers, a pediatrician who is the Green candidate for a U.S. Senate race in Maryland, pointed to a few Baltimore city council candidates with relatively high chances of winning. Others reframed the question, saying success would mean attracting attention and supporters for the party's message.